


Whirlpools and Sinking Skeletons

by littlestcactus



Series: Come Hell or High Water [2]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Angst, Canon Rewrite, Depression, Dimension Travel, Drama, Edward POV, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Frozen at Peak Dumbass, Gossip, High School, Humor, Jealousy, Melodrama, Mystery, Not Canon Compliant, Outdated Speech, Pining, Reincarnation, Romance, Self-Insert, Shenanigans, Slice of Life, Telepathy, Traditional Mindset
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlestcactus/pseuds/littlestcactus
Summary: whirl·pool /ˈ(h)wərlˌpo͞ol/ noun 1. a rapidly rotating mass of water in a river or sea into which objects may be drawn, typically caused by the meeting of conflicting currents. Was it any surprise then, that a dead girl with a watery grave and an ocean of secrets would draw him in just as strongly? [Companion to A Body of Water and Bones, Edward’s POV]
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Edward Cullen/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Come Hell or High Water [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012212
Comments: 12
Kudos: 174





	Whirlpools and Sinking Skeletons

_"She's coming in," Alice murmured then. My body froze. "Try to look human."_

_"Human you say?" Emmett asked._

_He held up his right fist, twisting fingers to reveal the snowball he'd saved in his palm._ (Midnight Sun, page 29)

I was too stunned by the boisterous laugh that suddenly echoed and bounced off the cafeteria walls, to pay much mind to Emmett and Alice. I nearly snapped my head around, but the precariousness of the situation demanded absolute control. Instead, I picked through the various minds until I gathered a clear picture.

Isabella Swan had stumbled through the cafeteria doors, hair damp and snow stuck in the creases of her parka. She was the source of laughter, cheeks rosy and straining from her wide grin, eyes bright with mirth. I pulled in a few, short shallow breaths, ready to quit breathing if any hint of her scent touched the air near me.

"We got you good, Newton!" she whooped, tossing an arm around Jessica Stanley's shoulders. "Isn't that right, Jess?"

Below her arm, Jessica giggled, equally red-face, snow dusted across her curls and shoulders. "Totally!" she agreed. _That was so fun!_

Mike Newton trudged after the girls with a sheepish grin. "That's some throwing arm you got there, Isabella," he muttered, reaching up and dislodging the powder stuck to his hair. _Damn that girl's scary._ A brief memory of Isabella accosting him with a barrage of snowballs flashed across his mind. _She's so hot._

My lips curled into a near snarl. It was distasteful, the way his mind wrapped around her with a possessive edge.

"Thanks," she snickered, releasing Jessica to swipe a lunch tray, which she passed to the other girl, before grabbing one for herself.

I watched through Jessica's eyes while she chattered, observing Isabella and her responses to the smaller girl. It was peculiar, the way Isabella indulged Jessica's inane blathering. She hummed and nodded, but never contributed, giving the appearance she wasn't fully engaged.

It wasn't until they'd paid for their lunch, that Isabella's features warped into an expression of befuddlement. "Wait, I thought she replaced Paris as editor," she abruptly pointed out, much to my astonishment. From what I gathered, Jessica had been chitchatting about a television program called Gilmore Girls, but for all of Isabella's allowances, she hadn't given the impression she was as invested as Jessica.

 _What on earth is she talking about?_ "Uh, no," Jessica replied slowly, "Paris isn't editor."

"Well, she isn't for long. Remember? In season six?" Isabella reminded her with such surety that I was inclined to believe her.

"What?" Jessica snorted a laugh as they ambled over to their usual lunch table. Not downwind, just as Alice had promised. "We're still in the middle of season five! _Duh_!"

Through Jessica's eyes, I noted the way the blood faded from Isabella's face, her smile growing the slightest bit stiff. "Oh. Sorry, I got confused," she chuckled, a tinge of agitation mixed in.

"Obviously," Jessica snickered, "As I was saying…"

Isabella had yet to glance in our direction, and if Alice's visions were to be trusted, she didn't plan on doing so any time soon.

I skillfully ignored my siblings' mischief, but for all my fixating, I had yet to catch a glimpse of her thoughts. The frustration grew more acute as time went on, but the blank space beside Jessica persisted, and I was forced to continue monitoring Isabella through her eyes.

Isabella had allowed her earlier expression of unease to fall into something more relaxed, but the tight line of her slight shoulders betrayed her discomfort. It wasn't until Jessica moved onto a different line of conversation, that the new girl fully allowed her shoulders to drop. I filed away her curious reaction for later reflection.

I pressed a finger to my temple. Jessica's chattering, along with the numerous lines of thought her mind kept hopping between, was liable to give me a headache. Although I didn't believe it was physically possible for my kind, I also wouldn't be alarmed if it was Jessica Stanley who disproved this theory.

"Ease up, Edward," Emmett said, and I met his gaze, all too willing to escape the tangled yarn that made up Jessica Stanley's brain, consisting of Vogue magazine articles, fantasies of Brad Pitt, Green Day lyrics, and God knew what else. "Honestly. So you kill one human. That's hardly the end of the world."

"You would know," I murmured and peeked over my shoulder, deciding to get a look at her for myself rather than allow myself to be dragged back into Jessica's nonsensical thoughts. From this angle, I caught the way Isabella's hand twitched towards her jean pocket below the table. It wouldn't have been so odd, if she hadn't done it three consecutive times within the space of thirty seconds.

I twisted back at the sound of Emmett's laughter. "You've got to learn to get over things. Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt."

Just then, the bell rang, indicating the end of the lunch period. Before I could become too afflicted with my choice of attending biology, Alice slashed a sharp gaze in my direction, thoughts blaring.

 _She was right!_ I watched as she replayed her latest vision, displaying a television screen featuring a group of college students. She ran through the scenes in quick succession, until I grasped at her meaning.

Isabella's blunder regarding Jessica's preferred show, hadn't been a blunder at all. But how could she have possibly known a plot point that would not be airing for a few months yet?

 _You don't think…?_ Alice's thought trailed off, but picking up on her meaning wasn't a challenge.

My frown was answer enough. I was just as perturbed.

_What are you hiding, Isabella Swan?_

* * *

Despite lingering in the cafeteria to listen to my family's last minute concerns, I made it to my seat a minute before her. I greedily breathed in the untainted air, until I picked up her voice out in the hall, apologizing to Angela Weber for their near tardy. I took in one last, deep breath, just before she stepped into the classroom. When she dropped into the stool beside me, she kept her gaze forward, never once glancing in my direction, and I knew I had to leave her with a different impression this time.

"Hello," I greeted her quietly, with a small, polite smile.

Slowly, she tilted her head and met my gaze, her cocoa brown eyes gleaming with reluctance. I knew it shouldn't disappoint me. I'd frighten her so badly on our first encounter, she'd run. But it had saved her and the other humans from being slaughtered. I should be grateful for her strong, preservation instincts, but instead, I found myself wanting to ease her doubts―not for the sake of secrecy, but for my own sake.

I shook away the odd yearning and continued, "My name is Edward Cullen. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Isabella Swan."

Her features warped into an expression of distaste. "That's me."

I startled, perplexed by her peculiar reaction―not that she took notice. Already, she'd turned away, clearly averse to continuing any line of conversation with me. Despite the urge to reclaim her gaze, I refrained, mind still preoccupied with deciphering the source of her disgust. Was it her name? I couldn't imagine why―it was a lovely name. Perhaps she was irritated that her status as the new student had yet to lose its novelty? I ran through my memories of her first day, before I'd gotten anywhere near her scent, and I had been forced to endure everyone's mental enthusiasm regarding the new girl.

And I remembered.

At the time, I had noticed the way she seemed discomforted whenever she introduced herself, or someone introduced her on her behalf. I had assumed she was merely shy, until I noted the way she was slow to react whenever anyone called her by name, as though she were unaccustomed to being called 'Isabella.' Odd, but she wouldn't be the first human to change her name, even if the timing was strange. My intent to pick up the reasons for her behavior within her mind, had been cut short by whatever cloak of silence surrounded her thoughts. And then I'd caught the smell of her blood, and my curiosity had vanished with crushing violence.

But now, being of sound mind, the questions lined up in my head, and my frustration began to mount.

"Get started," Mr. Banner commanded, regaining my attention.

A little too eagerly, I turned towards Isabella and offered, "Ladies first, partner?"

She didn't glance at me. "Sure thing." She slid the microscope towards herself, snapped the first slide into place, and peered into the eyepiece for a long minute. "Hmm… I wanna say it's prophase, but you'll have to double check." Isabella leaned back with an uncertain expression.

For a moment, my curiosity was replaced with the outlandish urge to ease her worries. "Of course," I offered her a reassuring smile, before leaning to gaze into the eyepiece for a split second. "It's prophase," I was quick to assure her, before noting it down on the lab sheet, and switching out the slides. "Anaphase."

It was at this moment that I finally ran out of air. I silently switched out the slides, and pushed the microscope in her direction, and once she became preoccupied with squinting into the eyepiece, I braced myself.

Leaning back and inclining my head away from her, I locked my muscles into place and gulped a lungful of searing air, nearly recoiling from the intense pain at the back of my throat, not unlike that of being pierced with a hot branding iron. I could taste her on my tongue.

By the time she'd straightened up, I'd composed my pained features back into a pleasant expression. "Interphase," she decided, voice filled with a little more confidence.

Regardless, I double checked it, before jotting it down. We finished the lab in quick succession, and I returned to observing her. Although I was brimming with questions, I knew it was unlikely she'd answer any of them―mostly due to their outlandish nature.

_Is Isabella not your real name?_

_Do you also have a gift of precognition?_

_Why on earth do you keep patting your pocket?_

Perhaps that last one wasn't such a strange concern. She really was odd.

Mr. Banner approached our table and I gratefully inhaled the gush of clean air he brought with him. "So, Edward," he said, glancing over our lab sheet, "Didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?"

"She identified three of the five," I corrected him, aware of the way Isabella's features twisted with indignation.

Mr. Banner's thoughts were skeptical as he turned to look at her. "Have you done this lab before."

Her nostrils flared and her chin tilted high at the challenge. "No," Isabella answered shortly, eyes narrowed. I didn't need to be able to read her mind to know her current line of thought.

Mr. Banner appeared taken aback. _What an aggressive girl._ "Well, I guess it's good you two are lab partners," he said, lips pursed, before ambling off, mumbling under his breath, "So the other kids can get a chance to learn something for themselves."

Putting aside my curiosity for the moment, I settled on attempting to give Isabella a better impression of myself.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?"

"Sure."

Although I'd expected her agreement, her lackluster response was unanticipated. I'd heard this same conversation between dozens of other students, and their lament had been much more expressive.

So, I prodded, "You don't seem particularly devastated."

Her shoulders lifted and then dropped. "It's just snow."

I briefly recalled the way she'd entered the lunch room, bursting with laughter and dusted with snow. And a combination of Jessica's and Newton's memories flitted through my head―Isabella accosting them with snowballs, Isabella failing to duck the flurry of snow headed her way, Isabella falling into a pile of snow with a startled laugh.

I was prepared to call out her boldfaced lie when she heaved a loud sigh and turned to me. "You're really pushing this weather subject, huh?"

"I guess?" I said, befuddled by Isabella's thorough change in demeanor. Although I didn't expect she'd be as comfortable conversing with me as she did with her friends, I hadn't anticipated that she would wear a completely different facade.

Voice flat, she said, "Look, if there's something you want to know, just ask." She ducked her head back, eyes glued to her notebook.

I'd run out of air once more, but I didn't waste the chance she'd given me. I gulped a chestful of blistering air and asked, "Why did you come here?" Not my most pressing question, but the one I _could_ ask, even if it was rude.

Even if she left, there was no guarantee I wouldn't go after her. But she had utterly upheaved not only my comfortable position here, but the safety of my family and those around her. It would have been better if she'd never come.

Her eyebrows shot up. "To biology? I didn't get much say in my schedule," she huffed.

"I meant to Forks," I clarified, unsure if she was being facetious.

"Oh...Mom got remarried. Mom wanted to travel with her husband. So, I left."

For a second, I absorbed her quick story. And once I did, I found myself sympathetic and a little helpless, wondering how hard she must've worked to say it so callously.

"That…doesn't seem fair," I settled on, curious of what seemed like a dreadful relationship between herself and her mother.

"And? Does my being here really inconvenience you so much?"

For a single, horrific moment, I suspected she knew exactly what I was.

But the moment passed, and I berated myself for being so paranoid. Her surly comment could easily be explained away by my abhorrent reaction to her on her first day.

It also meant I'd had little success in adjusting her impression of me. Which I was desperate to remedy. I was astounded by just how much I wished for her to perceive me in a more positive light.

But I refrained from prodding her into further conversation, admitting defeat for the day. Although her clear aversion bothered me, I didn't want to further provoke the irritation she already harbored towards me.

We were lab partners. I'd get another chance tomorrow.

I recognized the fascination growing inside me and found myself too weak to root it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took creative liberty and cut down on Edward's inner monologues. I refuse to write him completely in-character. His tangents have tangents. I don't have the patience for it and I don't know how anyone can read Midnight Sun and not go crazy.
> 
> But this is for everyone who asked for Edward's POV. I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the story, so I published this separately. Hopefully it met your expectations! Tell me your thoughts! :)
> 
> Not sure if I'll continue this. I'll think about it.
> 
> In Reference to A Body of Water and Bones: First part of Chapter 2.


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